EASSy submarine cable network upgraded with Ciena GeoMesh Extreme

EASSy, a 10,000-kilometer submarine cable system that connects Africa’s east and south coasts, is using Ciena‘s GeoMesh Extreme, which is powered by WaveLogic 5 Extreme coherent optical technology, to boost capacity and performance in Sub-Saharan Africa. This upgrade will assist EASSy in meeting rising regional digital demands while also improving connectivity to Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia at a lower cost.

“There’s a great need for affordable and reliable international connectivity in East Africa. We worked with Ciena to make our submarine cable network simpler and higher speed, allowing us to scale to unprecedented capacities at a lower overall cost. This places EASSy in a better position to expedite the closing of the Digital Divide for Africans who are increasingly dependent on cloud-based services,” said Jacques Van Der Walt, Procurement Group Chair at Telkom South Africa.

According to the company, with this deployment, EASSy is doubling network capacity across the system from 18Tb/s to 36Tb/s in order to keep up with the system’s voracious and ongoing bandwidth growth.

Furthermore, by utilizing Ciena’s most recent coherent technology, EASSy is enhancing the intelligence and efficiency of its cable system, maximizing fiber capacity and significantly lowering the cost per bit transported.

Ciena’s Manage, Control, and Plan (MCP) domain controller manages the network. EASSy achieves maximum operational proficiency and service agility while reducing OPEX by utilizing a software-driven, automated approach.

EASSy also uses Ciena Services to manage and support its network operations center (NOC) in South Africa, as well as to implement the hardware upgrade, including legacy traffic migration.

“EASSy’s on a mission to provide world-class international connectivity that helps close the Digital Divide in Africa. Our proven deployment capabilities in Africa helped EASSy modernize its network using GeoMesh Extreme, providing on-time capacity that’s critical to keeping pace with ongoing international traffic growth in Africa.” said Ian Clarke, Vice President of Global Submarine Solutions at Ciena.